Will Dave Eggers Save Journalism?

People love to hate novelist Dave Eggers. Though often described as "arrogant" and frequently mocked
by Gawker, the 39-year-old San Francisco writer's sins are
not always clear. His resume is evidently bursting with good works. Eggers's two
most recent books explored humanitarian crises in New Orleans and
Sudan. (He donated a share of the books' profits to relief efforts.) He
also runs a small publishing house, a literary journal (McSweeney's),
and a charity that works to teach writing and literacy to urban
children. He counts President Obama
among his readers. This may sound like sainthood, but in the gossipy
and often jealousy-ridden world of high literature, his successes
(which gained him a screenwriting gig for this year's "Where The Wild
Things Are" adaptation) make him a prime target.

Most recently, Eggers and McSweeney's have produced a one-off newspaper they're calling the San Francisco Panorama.
The 320-page broadsheet hired big names like Stephen King as well as
local laid-off reporters to construct an elegant rethinking of the
modern newspaper, from the front page to the book review pull-out. The
project's publisher says
he wants to create an homage to newspapers and hopes to provide the
ailing industry with ideas on how to reinvent themselves for print
survival in the 21st century. Will Dave Eggers save journalism?
Probably not. But his effort had handed critics an opportunity to
restate their case. Below, the latest hate as well as a taste of the classics,
plus a bit of dissent.

Fun But No SaviorThe Economist loves
the final product but sees little hope in it rescuing, say, the
Baltimore Sun. "The fact that this is a one-off, $16 newspaper means it
doesn't offer
real tips for financial sustainability. Yet it is a beautifully
produced work of print journalism, delivered in McSweeney's
idiosyncratic voice"

Not Saving Anything Gawker's Hamilton Nolan scoffs, "The whole thing sounds great. Except, of course, this six-month long
niche literary project has absolutely nothing to do with newspapers or
with the continued viability of print, which is dying as a mass medium,
naturally, due to its obvious limitations."

Egger's Twee Literature Gawker's Ryan Tate describes Eggers as "lord of twee literature." Also on Gawker, Richard Rushfield writes,
"after spending years teaching writing to children, Dave Eggers appears
to be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome and believes that grown-ups
should write like six year olds rather than for them."

The Case For Eggers Politics Daily's Alex Wagner pleads,
"can we get some love for author and McSweeney's publisher Dave Eggers?
Firstly, the guy is seriously committed to educational reform --
setting up his 826 tutoring centers
in cities across the country. More importantly, perhaps, he's putting
out some of the most compelling contemporary writing on victims of
injustice (both domestically and internationally) through titles like
'What Is the What,' 'Zeitoun" and his 'Voice of Witness' oral history
series. But beyond being worthy endeavors, they're actually really good
stories."